He laughed. “One and the same.”
“Why is he meeting you there?”
He shrugged, but his mouth pulled into a flat line, letting me know that he was unimpressed with the situation. “Honestly? I have no idea. He just said that an old friend needs a favor and that he wants me there.”
“That’s suspiciously vague.”
“That’s exactly what I said.”
I chuckled. “Clearly, you’re thrilled about getting to spend a few days with the old man.”
His eyes rolled so hard, I was convinced he’d caught a glimpse of his tonsils. “Of course, and what better place than DC? Nothing makes me happier than leaving my family behind to go make small talk with politicians.”
“At least you’ll get some sleep, right? If Cameron and Jane won’t be going with you.”
“I’d rather take my wife and toddler,” he joked. “Being sleep deprived beats being ambushed every time.”
“You think it’s an ambush?”
He shook his head slowly. “I don’t know, but just be available when I call.”
“Always.”
“That’s the problem,” he muttered, but his phone rang before I could ask him to explain. “Fuck. It’s Sterling. I have to take this, but I’ll let you know what’s going on as soon as I know.”
I nodded, standing up and leaving before I could get dragged into whatever our oldest cousin was calling about. Sterling was the CEO of Westwood and Sons, West Coast Division. While he and Alex talked pretty regularly, I wasn’t about to stick around on the off chance this was about some new deal they’d send my way.
Instead, I took my secretary’s advice like I’d promised and headed home early. I was barely inside the front door before Bear came loping toward me, my German Shepard that was seventy-five pounds of enthusiasm with absolutely no respect for personal space.
“Hey, buddy,” I said as he pushed his head into my chest like he hadn’t seen me in years, his tail wagging so hard, it nearly knocked over a side table. “Yeah, I missed you too.”
Theo’s voice came from somewhere deeper in the house. “He’s been like that all afternoon. Going absolutely nuts.”
“What does that mean?”
“He’s obsessed,” Theo clarified, appearing in the entrance to the cavernous hallway that led to the rest of the house. “That squirrel who used to live in the backyard has taken up residence again and Bear has decided that it’s personal this time.”
Bear huffed like he understood every word, already turning toward the back door with purpose in his stride. I sighed but set my stuff down and moved to follow him. “Yeah, alright. Let’s go before you take out a wall.”
Theo trailed behind me when I walked to the kitchen to grab the leash. By the time I turned around, he was already halfway into a jacket. I frowned at him.
“I’m coming with you,” he said. “Bear and I have been waiting for hours.”
“And here I was, not knowing that I was the only person in this household who actually works.”
He laughed. “I finished up my last meeting early and came home. To be fair, I can answer emails from anywhere.”
“Sure, but is that what you were doing? Because I have a feeling you were terrorizing the squirrel with Bear.”
“Why do you always think I’m terrorizing something or someone?” he asked as we stepped out into the yard.
I shot him a grin over my shoulder. “How about because you usually are?”
As soon as he got outside, Bear locked onto his target like he had a job to do, but the squirrel, predictably, didn’t care. Theo shoved his hands into his pockets, his head shaking as he watched the dog. “That’s going to be an epic battle until the squirrel decides to move on again.”
“We’ll let him burn off energy for a few minutes before we head out,” I said. “He’ll be impossible otherwise.”
Theo nodded, waiting with me until Bear finally trotted back over. We left the house with Bear on his leash just ahead of us. Neither of us said much for the first block, but after we turned the corner, I felt him looking at me.
